Students walked out of their teaching on Friday October 10 to rally for a ceasefire in the Gaza region.

The primary reason for the walkout was to show solidarity with the people suffering in Palestine.

The university commented that “the organisers were not known to the university” and were not representing any recognised student groups.

“We unequivocally condemn antisemitism, islamophobia and hate speech, and do not tolerate discrimination on campus” continued the university.

Shouts of ‘from the rivers to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ were heard from the crowd, as well as the rallying cry of ‘free, free Palestine’. The message ‘leave your classrooms and demand an immediate ceasefire now’ was emblazoned across the leaflets handed out by the leaders of the walkout.

‘We are here to show solidarity with working class people in Palestine, and Israel for that matter,” commented one of the Socialist society members. ‘They are both victims of the system that creates this never-ending cycle of conflict and occupation.’ 

The individual went on to state the society wanted to put pressure on the ‘pro-capitalist, warmongering politicians we have here in the UK.’

A participant of the walkout commented that they were there ‘to call for a ceasefire.’

‘This goes back beyond October 7th,’ said the attendee. ‘This has been 75 years of dispossession.”

The students began gathering outside the library at 1 p.m. and subsequently moved down towards Old Joe, creating a poignant image with the Palestinian flags waving in front of the campus hub.

Organisers also handed out QR codes that explained the public’s rights when it comes to protesting, commenting that it was useful to know in case any action was taken by security or police.

When asked about the actual impact of the protest, a participant commented that it would ‘hopefully raise awareness’, but noted that ‘on the ground [they] don’t think that there will be a lot of achievements.’

‘I hope that it puts pressure on the University,’ agreed the Socialist society member, who emphasised the importance of being part of the movement and creating these kinds of events.

There seemed to be a heightened security presence at the walkout, with campus security officers at hand to police the event, but they did not interfere with the proceedings.

The events on campus were part of a larger national walkout that saw protests in Bristol, Edinburgh and Oxford, among other universities. Two-hundred students in Edinburgh staged a ‘lie-in,’ while in Oxford there was a ‘sit-in’ at the popular Westgate shopping centre. Socialist Worker also advertised a protest on Saturday November 11 in London.

The student protests have not just been limited to the UK, though, with student walkouts taking place in the United States, too. Nearly 300 students walked out of a Hillary Clinton class at Columbia University, and many students in New York City also walked in the streets to campaign for a ceasefire in Gaza. Walkouts also occurred in San Antonio, Texas, and at the University of Michigan.

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